1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a robotized gear change for motor vehicles and, in particular, motor vehicles for disabled persons.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is known, in motor vehicles for disabled persons the main controls of the vehicle, and in particular the steering, the gear lever, and the pedals of the clutch, brake, and accelerator, can be partially or totally replaced by auxiliary controls, which are chosen on the basis of the type of handicap of the driver in order to enable persons with a seriously limited use of his or her limbs to drive the vehicle.
In particular, amongst the different possible auxiliary controls for vehicles for disabled persons may be listed:
the combined accelerator-brake levers, which replace both the brake pedal and the accelerator pedal and enable paraplegic persons (i.e., persons who are unable to use their lower limbs or can use them only to a limited extent) to carry out operations of acceleration and braking of the vehicle using their hands;
the joysticks and pedals for control of the steering, which replace the traditional steering wheel and enable disabled persons who can use their upper limbs only to a limited extent to carry out operations of steering of the vehicle;
the steering control knobs, for controlling steering with just one hand, for disabled persons who can use only one upper limb; and
the wireless-communication control units or the like, that enable a user to handle all the auxiliary controls with which the vehicle is equipped without taking his hands off the steering wheel.
As regards the gear change of the vehicle, it is known in the majority of cases persons with handicaps to their lower and/or upper limbs are unable to use gears of a manual type, which always require the use both of at least one arm and of one leg. For this reason, the majority of vehicles for disabled persons are provided with an automatic gear change of a traditional type that does not require either the clutch pedal or the manual gear lever.